Everything You Want
by Awsomaniatica
Summary: All her life she was taught to be strong no matter what. She'd look up to her father for his great strength and longed to never let anything get past her defenses, just like him. So why did she want nothing to do with him? One-shot with the song by Vertical Horizon.


**Everything You Want**

_All her life she was taught to be strong no matter what. She'd look up to her father for his great strength and longed to never let anything get past her defenses, just like him. So why did she want nothing to do with him? One-shot with the song by Vertical Horizon._

_Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I own nothing in the DC comics universe or any songs. _

* * *

"You need to keep focused Artemis. Set your mind ready for any targets."

Artemis chided herself for completing this hard task that her father assigned for her. She had little to no idea what to expect as she wandered stealthly in the vast forest. Keeping her arrow ready, she leaned from tree to tree, her senses on high alert. She barely heard the crinkle of leaves behind her before a large shadowed mass appeared from behind the trunk. In surprise, she accidentally released her arrow loosely and it flew only a few feet in front of her before puncturing the forest floor.

Terrified, she took off running as fast as she could. Looking behind her to see if she was being followed, she failed to notice the large root planted in front of her. Artemis fell down hard, skinning her knees and falling on her bow with her arm. Grimacing, she struggled to get up and continued her fleeing.

Soon, Artemis slammed her back into a large tree, eyes wide and panting hard. She sat her bow down for a moment to examine her sure to be bruised arm and burning red knees. She cringed at the feel of the cloth rubbing against her knees again, but pushed it away and picked up her bow.

After a brief hesitance, Artemis took off for another cluster of trees. Artemis screeched in panic as she saw too late a bulky figure charging towards her. The next thing she knew, she was sliding across the forest floor, the wind knocked completely out of her. Reaching all of her strength, she painfully pushed herself on her better arm to face her attacker. Sportsmaster stood over her with her bow in his hand before throwing it at the ground near her.

"You need to do better. That was pathetic Artemis."

The twelve year old girl tried to hold back the tears as she bit her lip and made eye contact with her father through the eye sockets of his full face mask.

All her life she was taught to be strong no matter what. She'd look up to her father for his great strength and longed to never let anything get past her defenses, just like him. She learned from day one after her full training began that everything he taught her would make her a warrior no one would want to mess with. As Artemis strived to live up to that expectation, the twelve year old couldn't help starting to feel like her actual father meant nothing to her and she could not fathom why.

_Somewhere there's speaking  
It's already coming in  
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind  
You never could get it  
Unless you were fed it  
Now you're here and you don't know why  
_

_But under skinned knees and the skid marks  
Past the places where you used to learn  
You howl and listen  
Listen and wait for the  
Echoes of angels who won't return_

_He's everything you want  
He's everything you need  
He's everything inside of you  
That you wish you could be  
He says all the right things  
At exactly the right time  
But he means nothing to you  
And you don't know why_

* * *

"I don't think I'll ever be able to understand you Artemis. You never let anyone _really_ help you."

Artemis wanted to argue with him, but Wally was kind of right. She honestly had no idea what she really wanted when she joined the team. The closeness of the teens is something that she always longed to have. To feel complete and truly wanted. Yet, her actions spoke completely different than her feelings. She would often push away anyone who came close to her, especially personally. That's how she was raised with her father so she never expected more. It always frightened her.

Then when she had to battle against Cheshire and learned of Sportsmaster's current antics, it was like the wounds that were starting to heal, painfully opened again. It was up to her to keep them covered from her team to be able to keep the trust and not seem weak. Artemis was not supposed to be a weakling.

_You're waiting for someone  
To put you together  
You're waiting for someone to push you away  
There's always another wound to discover  
There's always something more you wish he'd say_

* * *

The wind whirled past as she rode on the cycle through the night. Her pony tail lapped against her back, but she could care less. Artemis and Robin rode side by side down the empty highway with Kid Flash running along with them. The trio was sent to investigate a disturbance right outside of Gotham. Artemis gripped the handles hard enough to turn her knuckles white. She spotted the dirt road which led to a huge wooded area that she remembered too well. Echoes of the past flowed through her mind of the many times spent in training with her dad. Just when she thought things were looking up, she was again reminded of the things she wanted to forget.

"Artemis? Are you okay?" Wally asked.

The archer glanced over at her teammates who both looked concerned for her.

"Yeah," She merely answered, staring straight ahead at the road.

"Is there something back there?" Robin asked.

Artemis shook her head. "No, just bad memories,"

She pressed on the pedal to accelerate a bit faster, ready to be rid of the forest that taunted her. The guys gave each other looks before following her lead, not continuing any further on personal questions.

_But you'll just sit tight  
And watch it unwind  
It's only what you're asking for  
And you'll be just fine  
With all of your time  
It's only what you're waiting for_

_Out of the island_  
_Into the highway_  
_Past the places where you might have turned_  
_You never did notice_  
_But you still hide away_  
_The anger of angels who won't return_

* * *

The villains at Santa Prisca were taken down very easily by the young heroes the day before the last day of the year. As her fellow team took care of their foes, Artemis dealt with Sportsmaster. While trapped in the mud after Cheshire took off on her own accord, he turned to his younger daughter who stood triumphantly over him. Artemis remembered this exact moment years ago when he had done the same to her.

Lawrence couldn't understand why his youngest daughter would waste the great warrior that she finally became on helping his annoyances. When he put her under intense training, he could see in her eyes that she wanted to learn to fight. After all he had done for her, she didn't want any of it anymore.

"I will never be like you." Artemis said in a low voice before knocking him out.

She picked up his mask and handed it to Wally to add to his souvenir collection. She silently thanked her father for making her strong and helping shape her to become who she was today and nothing like him.

_I am everything you want  
I am everything you need  
I am everything inside of you  
That you wish you could be  
I say all the right things  
At exactly the right time  
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why  
And I don't know why  
Why  
I don't know_

* * *

_"__Children begin by loving their parents. As they grow older, they judge them. Sometimes they forgive them." _

_Yup. I came up with most of this during one class today._ _Obviously Artemis is my favorite character since I keep going deep into her backstory and feelings. She is a wonderful character as a whole and has a huge place in what makes the Young Justice show amazing. I really hope she'd be able to come back on and be with Wally soon. :)_


End file.
